Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $37.13, but opened at $35.71. Frontline shares last traded at $37.1020, with a volume of 685,419 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Frontline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Danske downgraded shares of Frontline to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore downgraded shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.12.

Frontline Stock Up 3.4%

The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.91.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $714.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $579.59 million. Frontline had a net margin of 36.70% and a return on equity of 27.80%. Frontline’s revenue was up 66.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 EPS.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 16.1%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Frontline by 4,659.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,783,681 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $202,080,000 after purchasing an additional 5,662,172 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Frontline in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,911,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Frontline in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,676,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Frontline by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,212,000 after purchasing an additional 686,212 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Frontline by 256.9% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 826,343 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,031,000 after purchasing an additional 594,811 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Company Profile

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) is a leading global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. The company’s core business activities encompass the ownership and operation of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax tankers and Aframax vessels. Through long-term charters, spot market operations and time charters, Frontline provides flexible shipping solutions that cater to a diverse set of energy producers, refiners and trading houses worldwide.

Frontline’s fleet is geared toward high-capacity, ocean-going tankers capable of carrying large volumes of crude oil over intercontinental distances.